My chook, Charlie, died final month.
Charlie was a wonderful little parrot, jam-packed with persona. Most days, my shoulder was her perch, from which she would plant kisses on my cheek. She beloved having her image taken, and my buddy taught her to pose. When we’d giggle, she would giggle—and she or he had a knack for figuring out when the punchline of a joke was coming and would at all times giggle at precisely the correct second.
She additionally beloved to snuggle. She would fly over, sit with us, wrapped in a hoodie on the sofa, and watch films and Mass with us. When my son would observe violin, she could be the metronome completely chirping out the beat. If he stopped working towards after only some minutes, Charlie would squawk at him till he would begin working towards once more. My son used to joke that she was a music trainer in a earlier life. At evening, after we would prove the sunshine, she would say, “Good night. I love you.” She was energetic and love.
In the times after her demise, I discovered myself stunned on the depth of my grief. The areas of our dwelling the place she had perched appeared to emit a palpable absence. I reminded myself that she was not an individual. That didn’t assist in any respect. The truth was, she was nonetheless a cherished member of our household for over a decade, and whereas she was solely six inches lengthy, she continuously made her presence recognized. I determined to simply sit with my grief in prayer.
As I prayed, St. Ignatius’s ideas on creation got here to thoughts. In the Contemplation to Attain the Love of God, he asks us to mirror on “how God dwells in creatures: in the elements giving them existence, in the plants giving them life, in the animals conferring upon them sensation, in man bestowing understanding” (Spiritual Exercises 235) and to contemplate “how God works and labors for me in all creatures upon the face of the earth, that is, He conducts Himself as one who labors. Thus, in the heavens, the elements, the plants, the fruits, the cattle, etc., He gives being, conserves them, confers life and sensation, etc.” (236) Ignatius additional advises that we’re to “consider all blessings and gifts as descending from above.” (237)
Charlie actually was a blessing from above, and she or he taught me about God. If God can pack a lot love into one pleasant little chook and if, as Ignatius signifies, God has created and continues to create all of creation as present for us, how immense is God’s love for us?
It’s value spending a while with that thought: God’s love animates all of creation, on a regular basis, and all of this wondrous creation is a present to us!
Have you ever had a pet that taught you about God’s love for you?